Prologue

It was late in the evening when Risky found herself just a few nautical miles from the port side city of Scuttle Town. She was sure that the citizens had seen her Tinkertub approaching by now, but with the Ammo Baron's troops selfishly negotiating a sale of Watertown with its mayor, she knew that only a handful of scuttle beans could try to stop her. She laughed as she gazed over the bow to the beautiful sight. Someday, it would all be hers; she would do whatever she pleased with it, for it was a monster dump city, anyway.

"Ahahahaha!" She bellowed with her hand over her lips. "Caught with your guard down again! You were always a foolish Mayor, Scuttlebutt!

She twirled and chuckled, then stopped to see her Tinkerbats plunging into several Trojan cannonballs by the number. She was pleased, for it was the usual measure to launch her men over the city walls to distract them from her plans. But, today she had a special scheme in mind.

Risky placed her knuckles over her hips and walked over to her men, "C'mon boys, hurry up. We're almost in firing range."

Some tinkerbats piled into the hallow cannon ball while others struggled to close them within, leaving some tiny feet exposed when they clamped shut.

"Go on, Shoo Shoo!" Risky gestured her crew. "into the gun deck!"

The tinkerbats closed the remaining trojan shells and, with small feet slapping the deck, began to roll them into the ship. Many of them lost their balance down the stairway, causing chaos as many of them simply fell down all at once.

"Ugh..." Risky groaned, "What I trade for dark magic, and I get Nincompoops on the poopdeck."

Her own words reminded her of the genie brat, Shantae. The little runt was probably sleeping, as she always did on the job.

"Oh!" Risky grunted, squeezing her right cheek. "I can't wait to give her a piece of my mind!"

She glanced over at scuttle town, but her eyes slowly turned to the little runt's house, which settled comfortably on the seaside over the bridge on the outskirts of town. She heard the cannons being loaded, and instantly brought her attention to her strategy.

"Alright, men!" She screamed, "Fire!"

In an instant, the sound of gunpowder erupting roared through the sky. Several Trojan cannonballs whistled through the air, along with the high pitched squeals of scared Tinkerbats inside. Risky laughed as more shots began to fire. She was close enough to see the rooftops in town crumble as the bullets landed, and Tinkrbats began to flood the city with fire.

"Ahahahaha!" She bellowed. "my plan is unfolding."

Once again she thought of the brat genie, and how she was sure to come save the day and attempt to ruin her plan.

Risky grimaced with her hips pressed against the hull and her arms crossed with confidence.

"You won't get me this time, twerp." She said. "This time, I must succeed."

She only needed one thing from Scuttle Town today. It was something that only she and a big scholar in town could have known about. Shantae would likely be ignorant of it, thanks to a promise made in times long passed. Today, she would claim the Book of The Genie Realm, a secret hidden in the library of Scuttle Town over a decade ago.

Chapter 1: The Library

Shantae was soundly asleep, with her head in a feather pillow and her feet tucked snuggly into a plush blanket. She slept in late through the day due to a party she attended at Bolo's house outside of town. She was exhausted from showing off her dancing skills, and watching mock wrestling matches in the outdoors. Despite her comfortable state, she was woken by the sound of snapping wood. Her pointy ears twitched, and she hopped out of the blankets. She sat on her bedside for a short while, listening for other peculiar noises. Outside of her window, was visible smoke in the sky. She jumped out of bed as quickly as she could and opened the front door. She found exactly what she was expecting; Scuttle Town blazing in smoke. A Trojan cannonball crashed onto the bridge leading to her home.

"Hhmmnn!" Shantae grunted with her fist in the air. "Risky Boots!"

She knew it was her job to save Scuttle Town. So, with determination, she dashed outside, ready for another fight against evil. However, she quickly turned back to her house, and slammed the door shut behind her. A girl must dress for the evening if she is to save the day, after all.

Meanwhile, Risky had already docked her ship in front of the pier on the oceanside of town.

"Throw the anchor, boys!" Risky screamed from the deck.

Three Tinkerbats briefly struggled to lift the anchor. They tossed it overboard near the stone floor of the port. Once the anchor landed on the undersea surface, Risky jumped onto the attached chain and slid down into the terrified streets. Civilians panicked as countless Tinkerbats followed her down and scattered throughout the area. Two gate guards stepped in front of Risky and blocked her way.

"You won't get far now!" Said guard number one, dressed in a blue salvar.

"Yeah..." Said guard number two, shaking his sword at the wrist, wearing a red salvar, "You better not...come any closer."

"Ahahahaha!" Risky chuckled with her palm against her lips. "Oh, please play nice."

She pulled her flintlock hand gun from her belt and shot the sword out of the blue guard's hand.

"Ow! My pinky!" The guard cried, jumping up and down.

Risky returned the weapon to her side and shouted, "Get em boys!"

Many Tinkerbats ran ahead of her like a flood, swords swinging back and forth. The guards began whining as they ran away to hide.

"Cowards" muttered Risky as she scanned the area.

Her crew had cleared the port, and when Risky was certain that no one was watching, she rushed eastward through the alleys of Scuttle Town.

"It must be close by." She said, breathing heavily as she brushed through familiar roads.

After just a few minutes of running, she stopped when she finally stumbled at the front door of the town library. It was a fairly small, but well constructed building, with orange pillars holding the roof overhead.

"Bingo!" She said, jumping onto the steps in front of the entrance.

The flames that engulfed the city were still young, and she counted upon ample time to find what she needed. She kicked the door down and ran inside, where she was met with two young belly dancers, each with their hands shyly held behind them.

Risky stopped in front of them, unsheathed her scimitar and pointed it at them, "Get out of my way, Scuttle wenches."

In moments, the two women swung their arms out from behind their backs and revealed the long sabers they were both wielding. They slashed their swords around as they performed a brief dance, then switched to a defensive attention pose, ready for a lunge.

"Erg!" Risky grunted.

She angrily threw her scimitar at them, and it spun violently in the air like a boomerang. The dancers dodged the sword, and briefly watched it fly behind them; while they were distracted, Risky jumped a great height onto a ceiling beam above.

"Let's see you dodge this." Said Risky, loading her flintlock with a rocket shot.

She aimed down and fired, the missile homing toward them. With their arms flailing, the dancers dropped their weapons and ran for the exit. The rocket flew out of the doorway and continued after them, until their screams were silent. Risky chuckled, and retreated to the floor with a gentle jump. When her sword returned to her, she swiftly grabbed it and sheathed it.

Without thinking, she ran to the back of the building, until she came to an unsuspecting podium against the wall. She glared at its empty surface with satisfaction, and reached down to pull on a hallow space carved into it. A creaking sound echoed through the library, and a hidden door opened within the podium.

There was dust scattered everywhere inside. Yet, resting gently atop a fabric stand, lay a book with its surface completely covered with dirt and grime. She kneeled down, grabbed it, and held it close to her sight. Scrubbing its face clean revealed the words written on it.

"Book of the Genie Realm"

She laughed lightly, "Time to scram."

She turned back, and was shocked to see Mimic standing just a few feet away from her, wearing his usual green jacket and preposterous goggles.

"You old rag." Risky said, holding the book tightly in her arms. "What are you doing here? Stand aside now!"

Mimic retaliated, "Don't tell me your taking the book with you?"

Risky paused for a moment and grimaced, "How did you find out about my plan?"

"I saw those girls running from your mischief." Mimic answered. "When I saw the library, I just knew. Please, Risky, do what you will, but you can't do this. I've done my part to keep her wishes. Shantae can't find out ab..."

Risky drew her blade and held it against Mimic's neck, "Silence old fool! I've fulfilled my part. The runt can't know, but nothing should stop me from taking the book."

"RISKY!" Shouted a familiar young voice through the halls.

Risky could see from behind Mimic's head the purple ponytail of the half-genie brat, blowing wistfully against the blazing air. It was Shantae, dressed in her red and gold plated dance gear, scowling with her hands against the doorway.

A breath of silence ensued as smoke began to enter the library.